As I mentioned yesterday in class, the week after the break (4/7 & 4/9) we'll be focusing on the following selections from A Testatment of Hope: #14, 15, 16, 17, 24, & 33. Textual commentators for Tuesday 4/7 are: Megan, Tomas, Jessica O. and for Thursday 4/9 are: St. Claire and Ben. Then we'll start over from the top of the alphabet. Writing assignment #3, which you all should have, is due on Thursday 4/9, and I'll be asking for volunteers (among those who have not presented one of these assignments) to present your essays to the class. I will probably only ask for two volunteers since I expect a fair number of overlapping points on this assignment.Thursday 4/9 is also the deadline for anyone contemplating doing a self-designed topic for your paper.
For those of you who are ahead in the reading, the reading assignment for the second week after the break (4/14, 4/16) will be: #18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27 & 55, 54, 21, 22, 28, 29, 36, 37, 46, 49.
Finally, since I am behind on my running textual commentary, I will probably do a little blogging over the break.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
This Week, 3/24 & 3/26
Tomorrow we will begin to talk about A Testament of Hope. Again, the assignment for this week is: the Editor's Intro., and selections #53, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. In looking over those selections, I should have noted that there is a substantial amount dealing with the philosophy of non-violence. And in that regard I plan to hand out a description of another writing assignment (#3) which will be due after the break. It focuses on the philosophy of non-violence. Our textual commentators for Tuesday, 3/24 are: Kristen, Lewis, Tramaine, and for Thursday, 3/26: Frank, Jessica H., Jeremy.
I will be handing back Writing Assignment #2 tomorrow, but some of you have yet to turn it in, which you need to do ASAP.
See you tomorrow.
I will be handing back Writing Assignment #2 tomorrow, but some of you have yet to turn it in, which you need to do ASAP.
See you tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Final Reflections on King's Assassination
I hope what you saw yesterday was not too confusing. The interview with Dr. Wrone was entertaining, but unfortunately not as enlightening as it could have been. Let me make a few final observations about each video presentation.
"Who Killed MLK?"
I am sorry that I cannot answer some of your questions about some specific points in that video. There were statements made by both government officials and critics that I believe are suspect, but I can't prove it. The commentary I handed out on the CNN special, however, is based in documented evidence, much of it produced at Ray's hearing in 1974 in sworn testimony. I am absolutely convinced based on what I know about this case that if Ray had had a fair trial with competent legal representation, that he would have been acquitted based on the evidence. And there is strong evidence that Ray was being manipulated and set up to take the wrap, which means there undoubtedly was a conspiracy to kill King. Who those conspirators are, however, is anyone's guess, and we don't know that principally because of the failure of the Memphis authorities, not to mention the FBI, to adequately investigate this case. A similar point can be made regarding President Kennedy's assassination. And the facts in this case have been muddled over the years by both critics and defenders (especially one Gerald Posner who Dr. Wrone mentioned in his interview).
More specifically, I would certainly vouch for what Harold Weisberg said in the documentary. I knew him well and visited his basement archive on numerous occasions over a roughly 15 year period. He was Ray's investigator for that evidentiary hearing. Unfortunately, I did not pick his brain as much as I could have on that case in comparison to JFK.
Walter Fauntroy, a former SCLC member and the Congressman who headed the House Select Committee on Assassinations, did NOTHING during his "leadership" to expose any of this. In my book, he is a FRAUD with a capital F. And him saying that he has been considering working to release some of those files is disingenious -- to my knowledge he never lifted a finger in that regard. And the committee he headed was really only interested in dispelling various conspiracy theories, not getting justice for James Earl Ray.
Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark made a comment about Hoover and the FBI that I thought was incredible -- that he believed the FBI was under pressure to do a thorough investigation because of what was known about Hoover's animosity toward King. BUT THAT WAS HARDLY KNOWN AT THE TIME, AND CERTAINLY NOT BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC. This was not first exposed until the mid-70s and Hoover was dead by then. And his comment about all the so-called evidence they had against Ray is likewise incredible, especially coming from the once chief lawyer in the U.S. The record of the FBI in both this case and JFK's is disreputable.
Cheryl Harleston's interview with David Wrone:
Dr. Wrone did bring up some things that I have not seen but I have no reason to doubt do exist -- such as a photograph at the time of the assassination showing that bathroom window closed. Mrs. Harleston was pressing him at the end based on her perception that a conspiracy necessarily means some grand plot involving many players. But conspiracy essentially only means two or more people combining to commit a crime. And we tend to think that conspiracies are usually too big to hide -- that someone is bound to talk or be caught. But not necessarily, especially when someone like Ray had been framed and the government did not plan to look any farther than that.
I know this is not the final word, but for the sake of this course, it will have to be.
Remember, Writing Assignment #2 is due tomorrow (3/19) and Jeremy, Tomas, and Jessica H. will be presenting what they wrote. I will make some final comments about Sitkoff. Then next week we'll be getting into a Testament of Hope. Check the previous blog post for the reading assignment.
"Who Killed MLK?"
I am sorry that I cannot answer some of your questions about some specific points in that video. There were statements made by both government officials and critics that I believe are suspect, but I can't prove it. The commentary I handed out on the CNN special, however, is based in documented evidence, much of it produced at Ray's hearing in 1974 in sworn testimony. I am absolutely convinced based on what I know about this case that if Ray had had a fair trial with competent legal representation, that he would have been acquitted based on the evidence. And there is strong evidence that Ray was being manipulated and set up to take the wrap, which means there undoubtedly was a conspiracy to kill King. Who those conspirators are, however, is anyone's guess, and we don't know that principally because of the failure of the Memphis authorities, not to mention the FBI, to adequately investigate this case. A similar point can be made regarding President Kennedy's assassination. And the facts in this case have been muddled over the years by both critics and defenders (especially one Gerald Posner who Dr. Wrone mentioned in his interview).
More specifically, I would certainly vouch for what Harold Weisberg said in the documentary. I knew him well and visited his basement archive on numerous occasions over a roughly 15 year period. He was Ray's investigator for that evidentiary hearing. Unfortunately, I did not pick his brain as much as I could have on that case in comparison to JFK.
Walter Fauntroy, a former SCLC member and the Congressman who headed the House Select Committee on Assassinations, did NOTHING during his "leadership" to expose any of this. In my book, he is a FRAUD with a capital F. And him saying that he has been considering working to release some of those files is disingenious -- to my knowledge he never lifted a finger in that regard. And the committee he headed was really only interested in dispelling various conspiracy theories, not getting justice for James Earl Ray.
Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark made a comment about Hoover and the FBI that I thought was incredible -- that he believed the FBI was under pressure to do a thorough investigation because of what was known about Hoover's animosity toward King. BUT THAT WAS HARDLY KNOWN AT THE TIME, AND CERTAINLY NOT BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC. This was not first exposed until the mid-70s and Hoover was dead by then. And his comment about all the so-called evidence they had against Ray is likewise incredible, especially coming from the once chief lawyer in the U.S. The record of the FBI in both this case and JFK's is disreputable.
Cheryl Harleston's interview with David Wrone:
Dr. Wrone did bring up some things that I have not seen but I have no reason to doubt do exist -- such as a photograph at the time of the assassination showing that bathroom window closed. Mrs. Harleston was pressing him at the end based on her perception that a conspiracy necessarily means some grand plot involving many players. But conspiracy essentially only means two or more people combining to commit a crime. And we tend to think that conspiracies are usually too big to hide -- that someone is bound to talk or be caught. But not necessarily, especially when someone like Ray had been framed and the government did not plan to look any farther than that.
I know this is not the final word, but for the sake of this course, it will have to be.
Remember, Writing Assignment #2 is due tomorrow (3/19) and Jeremy, Tomas, and Jessica H. will be presenting what they wrote. I will make some final comments about Sitkoff. Then next week we'll be getting into a Testament of Hope. Check the previous blog post for the reading assignment.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Looking Ahead
Rather than post my notes on Chapter 8 of Sitkoff, I'd prefer to present my remarks in class. I will do that next Thursday (3/19). We'll go ahead with the video presentations on King's assassination on Tuesday (3/17). And don't forget that Writing Assignment #2 is due next Thursday as well, and we will need to have three volunteers to present their essays to the class (which we'll I'll ask for on Tuesday).
We will begin to discuss selections from "A Testament of Hope" during the following week and resume our textual commentaries. The first set of selections I'd like you to read are: the Editor's Introduction, #53, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. There is no theme as such in this first group of selections; they mainly concern the Montgomery bus boycott and writings from the late '50s. That will be the reading assignment for both Tuesday (3/24) and Thursday (3/26). The textual commentators will be: Tuesday (3/24) -- Kristen, Lewis, Tramaine. Thursday (3/26) -- Frank, Jessica H., Jeremy.
That's all for now. See you next week.
We will begin to discuss selections from "A Testament of Hope" during the following week and resume our textual commentaries. The first set of selections I'd like you to read are: the Editor's Introduction, #53, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. There is no theme as such in this first group of selections; they mainly concern the Montgomery bus boycott and writings from the late '50s. That will be the reading assignment for both Tuesday (3/24) and Thursday (3/26). The textual commentators will be: Tuesday (3/24) -- Kristen, Lewis, Tramaine. Thursday (3/26) -- Frank, Jessica H., Jeremy.
That's all for now. See you next week.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Quoted Passage & Chapter 5 Commentary
Check out the description of Writing Assignment #2 posted yesterday. Also, remember that tomorrow we'll be seeing "Citizen King" which runs two hours, so we'll be wrapping up around 4:30. Hope most of you can stick around for the whole thing.
The following is the passage from "Racial Matters" by Kenneth O'Reilly (p. 130) that I quoted in class yesterday regarding the FBI's reaction to King's "I Have a Dream" speech.
"In no position to challenge the director, Sullivan submitted Division Five's apology on August 30: 'The Director is correct. We were completely wrong...the Communist Party, USA, does wield substantial influence over Negroes which one day could become decisive.' He discussed King's "I Have a Dream" speech, labeling it 'demagogic,' and marked King 'as the most dangerous Negro leader of the future in this Nation from the standpoint of communism, the Negro and national security.' To meet the threat, the FBI must concentrate on 'the many Negroes who are fellow-travellers, sympathizers or who aid the Party, knowingly or unknowingly, but do not qualify as members.' It would 'be unrealistic to limit ourselves as we have been doing to legalistic proofs or definitely conclusive evidence that would stand up in court of before Congressional Committees.'"
REMAINING COMMENTARY ON CHAPTER 5:
1. They (the FBI) also (allegedly) caught him in the act at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC and prepared a "highlights tape," which was sent along with the note suggesting he commit suicide or face being exposed.
I. Meanwhile, King gradually settled on St. Augustine, Florida as SCLC's next target. They competed with SNCC's "Freeedom Summer" campaign in Mississippi for media attention. Basically, they sought another dramatic confrontation to intensify pressure on Congress to pass the civil rights bill.
1. The KKK was active and violent in St. Augustine.
2. Hosea Williams proposed a series of night marches to the historic Slave Market. After one group was attacked, King appealed for federal help to no avail. President Johnson did not want to irritate his fellow Southern Democrats.
3. There was other violence -- white racists were determined to crush the SCLC campaign. It was brutal. Sitkoff describes a June 25th atttack of 800 Klansmen. After this, Blacks were ready to fight back and King and his aides tried to talk them out of it.
4. King left for Atlanta with a mere verbal agreement by the governor to establish a bi-racial committee. Sitkoff suggests this was a partial victory at best. "He neither secured federal intervention nor improved the lot of the local black community. The SCLC neither left a grassroots movement in place nor initiated a follow-up campaign when the racial situation worsened. But the demonstrations kept America conscious of the violence and bloodshed that epitomized the reality and horror of racism. They pricked the conscience of the nation, speeding passage of the Civil Rights Act. The needs of the local black community counted for less. 'Some communities,' the preacher noted, 'like this one, have to bear the cross.'" (p. 135)
J. On July 2, 1964, King joined other civil rights leaders at the White House for the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. And he reminded us of how this had been fought for.
K. King speaks out in support of a boycott against South Africa and its apartheid policy. He also went to the Republican National Convention to plead for a progressive civil rights policy -- a plea which fell on deaf ears.
L. He did a 5-day tour in Mississippi to show his support for Freedom Summer. He endorsed the MFDP. Sitkoff mentions some appearances and speeches, how SNCC field secretaries snickered "De Lawd, De Lawd..."
1. SNCC opposed a moratorium on demonstrations that King had agreed to at the request of LBJ, not wanting to give his opponent, Goldwater, some ammunition.
M. Then, Sitkoff recounts King's efforts to seat the MFDP at the Democratic National Convention in lieu of the regular Mississippi delegation. King addressed the Credentials Committee forthrightly, but later he made what many regarded as a cowardly compromise with Johnson forces.
1. Introduced to Ms. Fanny Lou Hamer who gave her harrowing account of trying to register to vote, which Johnson nullified the effect of by calling a press conference when she was testifying.
a.) Johnson also used the FBI to keep tabs on King and the MFDP. (Similar actions led to Nixon's later resignation and probable impeachment, but Johnson got away with it.)
2. King as a national civil rights leader was thinking about the prospects for civil rights legislation and the War on Poverty and so agreed to a compromise, which was strongly denounced by SNCC (Bob Moses, Forman, etc.). The personal attacks hurt King. He left before Johnson gave his acceptance speech.
a.) King later checks into an Atlanta hospital with a viral infection, high blood pressure, 20lbs overweight. While there he is informed by Coretta that he won the Nobel Peace Prize, which he acknowledged gave him an even heavier cross to bear.
N. King gets into a little flap with the FBI, criticizing the Bureau in public, to which Hoover responds that King is the "most notorious liar in the country." That sets the stage for a face-to-face meeting between King and Hoover, which really did not amount to much. And FBI officials denied (and thereby lied) that they were out to get him.
O. He travels to Sweden to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. In his speech, which we will later read, he spoke out for a global war on poverty and a planet free of nuclear weapons. He is expanding his message.
P. The chapter closes with the mailing of the Burreau's "Christmas package" to the King home, including the note threatening his exposure as an "evil, abnormal beast." I provided a xerox of the routing information (who delivered it) along with the note, as it was disclosed. I cannot speak to the blacked-out portions, but what is not blacked out is certainly bad enough. And let me underscore how ILLEGAL this was for the FBI or any law enforcement agency to do this. It is tantamount to BLACKMAIL.
That brings us to Chapters 6 & 7, which we'll try to cover next Tuesday (3/10), and Jeremy, Megan, and Tomas will give their textual commentaries.
The following is the passage from "Racial Matters" by Kenneth O'Reilly (p. 130) that I quoted in class yesterday regarding the FBI's reaction to King's "I Have a Dream" speech.
"In no position to challenge the director, Sullivan submitted Division Five's apology on August 30: 'The Director is correct. We were completely wrong...the Communist Party, USA, does wield substantial influence over Negroes which one day could become decisive.' He discussed King's "I Have a Dream" speech, labeling it 'demagogic,' and marked King 'as the most dangerous Negro leader of the future in this Nation from the standpoint of communism, the Negro and national security.' To meet the threat, the FBI must concentrate on 'the many Negroes who are fellow-travellers, sympathizers or who aid the Party, knowingly or unknowingly, but do not qualify as members.' It would 'be unrealistic to limit ourselves as we have been doing to legalistic proofs or definitely conclusive evidence that would stand up in court of before Congressional Committees.'"
REMAINING COMMENTARY ON CHAPTER 5:
1. They (the FBI) also (allegedly) caught him in the act at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC and prepared a "highlights tape," which was sent along with the note suggesting he commit suicide or face being exposed.
I. Meanwhile, King gradually settled on St. Augustine, Florida as SCLC's next target. They competed with SNCC's "Freeedom Summer" campaign in Mississippi for media attention. Basically, they sought another dramatic confrontation to intensify pressure on Congress to pass the civil rights bill.
1. The KKK was active and violent in St. Augustine.
2. Hosea Williams proposed a series of night marches to the historic Slave Market. After one group was attacked, King appealed for federal help to no avail. President Johnson did not want to irritate his fellow Southern Democrats.
3. There was other violence -- white racists were determined to crush the SCLC campaign. It was brutal. Sitkoff describes a June 25th atttack of 800 Klansmen. After this, Blacks were ready to fight back and King and his aides tried to talk them out of it.
4. King left for Atlanta with a mere verbal agreement by the governor to establish a bi-racial committee. Sitkoff suggests this was a partial victory at best. "He neither secured federal intervention nor improved the lot of the local black community. The SCLC neither left a grassroots movement in place nor initiated a follow-up campaign when the racial situation worsened. But the demonstrations kept America conscious of the violence and bloodshed that epitomized the reality and horror of racism. They pricked the conscience of the nation, speeding passage of the Civil Rights Act. The needs of the local black community counted for less. 'Some communities,' the preacher noted, 'like this one, have to bear the cross.'" (p. 135)
J. On July 2, 1964, King joined other civil rights leaders at the White House for the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. And he reminded us of how this had been fought for.
K. King speaks out in support of a boycott against South Africa and its apartheid policy. He also went to the Republican National Convention to plead for a progressive civil rights policy -- a plea which fell on deaf ears.
L. He did a 5-day tour in Mississippi to show his support for Freedom Summer. He endorsed the MFDP. Sitkoff mentions some appearances and speeches, how SNCC field secretaries snickered "De Lawd, De Lawd..."
1. SNCC opposed a moratorium on demonstrations that King had agreed to at the request of LBJ, not wanting to give his opponent, Goldwater, some ammunition.
M. Then, Sitkoff recounts King's efforts to seat the MFDP at the Democratic National Convention in lieu of the regular Mississippi delegation. King addressed the Credentials Committee forthrightly, but later he made what many regarded as a cowardly compromise with Johnson forces.
1. Introduced to Ms. Fanny Lou Hamer who gave her harrowing account of trying to register to vote, which Johnson nullified the effect of by calling a press conference when she was testifying.
a.) Johnson also used the FBI to keep tabs on King and the MFDP. (Similar actions led to Nixon's later resignation and probable impeachment, but Johnson got away with it.)
2. King as a national civil rights leader was thinking about the prospects for civil rights legislation and the War on Poverty and so agreed to a compromise, which was strongly denounced by SNCC (Bob Moses, Forman, etc.). The personal attacks hurt King. He left before Johnson gave his acceptance speech.
a.) King later checks into an Atlanta hospital with a viral infection, high blood pressure, 20lbs overweight. While there he is informed by Coretta that he won the Nobel Peace Prize, which he acknowledged gave him an even heavier cross to bear.
N. King gets into a little flap with the FBI, criticizing the Bureau in public, to which Hoover responds that King is the "most notorious liar in the country." That sets the stage for a face-to-face meeting between King and Hoover, which really did not amount to much. And FBI officials denied (and thereby lied) that they were out to get him.
O. He travels to Sweden to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. In his speech, which we will later read, he spoke out for a global war on poverty and a planet free of nuclear weapons. He is expanding his message.
P. The chapter closes with the mailing of the Burreau's "Christmas package" to the King home, including the note threatening his exposure as an "evil, abnormal beast." I provided a xerox of the routing information (who delivered it) along with the note, as it was disclosed. I cannot speak to the blacked-out portions, but what is not blacked out is certainly bad enough. And let me underscore how ILLEGAL this was for the FBI or any law enforcement agency to do this. It is tantamount to BLACKMAIL.
That brings us to Chapters 6 & 7, which we'll try to cover next Tuesday (3/10), and Jeremy, Megan, and Tomas will give their textual commentaries.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Writing Assignment #2
Sociology 305
Writing Assignment #2
3/3/09
A. Reflecting on what you've learned about Dr. King in the latter half of Sitkoff's biography (Chapter 5 and beyond), I want you to write about TWO things you've learned that have altered your view of King in some way. Describe each of these things you've learned, where you learned about it in our book (which you could do perhaps by quoting a key passage), and discuss in what way each thing you've learned has influenced your perception of Dr. King.
B. This essay should be 3-4 pages and it is due on THURSDAY, MARCH 19th, at which time three of you will present your essays to the rest of the class. This essay is worth 25 points.
***I will not be handing out a hard copy of this assignment, so please refer to the blog for the details of this assignment.
Writing Assignment #2
3/3/09
A. Reflecting on what you've learned about Dr. King in the latter half of Sitkoff's biography (Chapter 5 and beyond), I want you to write about TWO things you've learned that have altered your view of King in some way. Describe each of these things you've learned, where you learned about it in our book (which you could do perhaps by quoting a key passage), and discuss in what way each thing you've learned has influenced your perception of Dr. King.
B. This essay should be 3-4 pages and it is due on THURSDAY, MARCH 19th, at which time three of you will present your essays to the rest of the class. This essay is worth 25 points.
***I will not be handing out a hard copy of this assignment, so please refer to the blog for the details of this assignment.
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